You possess nothing because there is nothing beyond You. Even the great enjoyers of tribute — Brahmā and other demigods — pay tribute to You. Those who are blinded by their wealth and absorbed in gratifying their senses do not recognize You in the form of death. But to the gods, the enjoyers of tribute, You are the most dear, as they are to You.

“We have no material possessions, and We are dear to those who similarly have nothing. Therefore, O slender one, the wealthy hardly ever worship Me.”

Queen Rukmiṇī begins her statement by saying niṣkiñcano nanu, “You are indeed niṣkiñcana.” The word kiñcanameans “something,” and the prefix nir — or, as it appears here, niṣ — indicates negation. Thus in the ordinary sense niṣkiñcana means “one who does not have something,” or, in other words, “one who has nothing.”

But in the present verse Queen Rukmiṇī states that Lord Kṛṣṇa “possesses nothing” not because He is a pauper but because He Himself is everything. In other words, since Kṛṣṇa is the Absolute Truth, all that exists is within Him. There is no second thing, something outside the Lord’s existence, for Him to possess. For example, a man may possess a house or a car or a child or money, but these things do not become the man: they exist outside of him. We say he possesses them merely in the sense that he has control over them. But the Lord does not merely control His creation: His creation actually exists within Him. Thus there is nothing outside of Him that He can possess in the way that we possess external objects.

The ācāryas explain niṣkiñcana in the following way: To state that a person possesses something implies that he does not possess everything.

In other words, if we say that a man owns some property, we imply that he does not own all property but rather some specific property. A standard American dictionary defines the word some as “a certain indefinite or unspecified number, quantity, etc., as distinguished from the rest.” The Sanskrit word kiñcana conveys this sense of a partial amount of the total. Thus Lord Kṛṣṇa is called niṣkiñcana to refute the idea that He possesses merely a certain amount of beauty, fame, wealth, intelligence and other opulences. Rather, He possesses infinite beauty, infinite intelligence, infinite wealth and so on. This is so because He is the Absolute Truth.

Śrīla Prabhupāda begins his introduction to the First Canto, Volume One, of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam with the following statement, which is quite relevant to our present discussion: “The conception of God and the conception of the Absolute Truth are not on the same level. The Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam hits on the target of the Absolute Truth. The conception of God indicates the controller, whereas the conception of the Absolute Truth indicates thesummum bonum, or the ultimate source of all energies.” Here Śrīla Prabhupāda touches upon a fundamental philosophical point. God is commonly defined as “the supreme being,” and the dictionary defines supreme as (1) highest in rank, power, authority, etc; (2) highest in quality, achievement, performance, etc; (3) highest in degree; and (4) final, ultimate. None of these definitions adequately indicates absolute existence.

For example, we may say that a particular American is supremely wealthy in the sense that he is wealthier than any other American, or we may speak of the Supreme Court as the highest court in the land, although it certainly does not have absolute authority in all political and social matters, since it shares authority in these fields with the legislature and the president. In other words, the word supreme indicates the best in a hierarchy, and thus the supreme being may merely be understood as the best or greatest of all beings but not as the very source of all other beings and, indeed, of everything that exists. Thus Śrīla Prabhupāda specifically points out that the concept of the Absolute Truth, Kṛṣṇa, is higher than the concept of a supreme being, and this point is essential to a clear understanding of Vaiṣṇava philosophy.

Lord Kṛṣṇa is not merely a supreme being: He is the absolute being, and that is exactly the point His wife is making. Thus the word niṣkiñcana indicates not that Kṛṣṇa possesses no opulence but rather all opulence. In that sense she accepts His definition of Himself as niṣkiñcana.

In text 14 Lord Kṛṣṇa also stated, niṣkiñcana-jana-priyāḥ: “I am dear to those who have nothing.” Here, however, Queen Rukmiṇī points out that the demigods, the wealthiest souls in the universe, regularly make offerings to the Supreme Lord. We may assume that the demigods, being the Lord’s appointed representatives, know that everything belongs to Him in the sense that everything is part of Him, as explained above. Therefore the statementniṣkiñcana-jana-priyāḥ is correct in the sense that since nothing exists except the Lord and His potencies, no matter how wealthy the Lord’s worshipers appear to be they are in fact offering Him nothing but His own energy as a loving act. The same idea is exemplified when one worships the Ganges River by offering Ganges water, or when a child gets money from his father on the father’s birthday and buys him a gift. The father is paying for his own present, but what he is really interested in is his child’s love. Similarly, the Supreme Lord manifests the cosmos, and then the conditioned souls collect various items of the Lord’s creation. Pious souls offer some of the best items from their collection back to the Lord as a sacrifice and thus purify themselves. Since the whole cosmos and everything in it is simply the Lord’s energy, we may say that those who worship the Lord possess nothing.

In more conventional terms, people who are proud of their great wealth do not bow down to God. Queen Rukmiṇī also mentions these fools. Satisfied with their temporary bodies, they do not understand the divine power of death, which stalks them. The demigods, however, who are by far the wealthiest living beings, regularly offer sacrifice to the Supreme Lord, and thus the Lord is most dear to them, as stated here.

Radhanath swami illustrates through the example of Sanatana Goswami on how to reconnect our relationship with Krishna

Krishna, who is Raasabihari in the spiritual world and His original most complete absolute identity is forever enjoying Rasa. Intimate ever-increasing limitlessly variegated loving exchange .In the spiritual world the whole purpose of existence is simply these loving exchanges .In this material world for people who have by our own free will chosen to seek happiness outside of our constitutional nature as loving servants of the Lord one may want to be the enjoyer, one may want to be the proprietor. There are limitless excuses, justifications and facilities to exercise that free will but they could never satisfy the self because jivera svaroop hoya krishnera nitya dasa is our nature to love Krishna, to serve Krishna.

Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu on this most elaborate on philosophical explanations was in the holy city of Varanasi on the bank of the river Ganga to Srila Sanatana Goswami. Sanatana Goswami is Sambandha guru. He is the guru for our whole Sampradaya. In the sense that through his example, through his teachings to his empowered divine grace, teaching us how to reconnect and reestablish our relationship with Krishna. Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu taught through him, his example. He was a prime minister of the whole kingdom. He was extremely wealthy. He was like the very son of the king, who had given him vast property, magnificent palaces, servants, Jewels and tremendous amount of independence to help him rule. He was also most learned scholar most pious person. While most people are seeking wealth even compromising their own well-being for the purpose of wealth because those who understand how material nature works.

There is the law of karma, forever action there’s an equal corresponding reaction. If you cause harm to another that harm will come to you, if you do good to some that goodness will come to you. It is all temporary. When we engage in immoral activity for the purpose of happiness a person who is quite ignorant of how the world works. They only see something very immediate. I’m getting some really enjoyable physical or emotional pleasure. I’m becoming powerful, I am getting more money, I am getting more land these things are fleeting they don’t last and some sense of happiness. But a person who understands the science of how nature works does verify cause harm to another about getting this then I am going to suffer miserably. The amount of temporary physical and emotional benefits that I’m getting to enjoy now are just a very insignificant in compared to the suffering I’m going to have to endure in the future.

In Sanskrit shreyas and preyas, preyas means a person who is simply concerned with immediate results and shreyas means a person who is intelligent this is what intelligence really means, a person who sees into the future. If you know something is poison, but it tastes really good you may have a few hours of really nice taste. You go blind and you go deaf you suffer the rest of your life .Is that intelligence? By modern materialistic rationalization it is intelligence, but that’s what everybody’s doing .Nobody cares about, what it is going to do , how it is going to react in the future and there are so many philosophies that we should live in the moment, we should be here in our love from a spiritual perspective that’s a very good thing. Be here now, but it should be based on truth not let me just enjoy it doesn’t matter what’s can happen in the future rather every moment is a precious reality in which we could love Krishna serve Krishna and become Krishna conscious.

Radhanath Swami describes how Krishna exerts his supreme power by trying to make Rukmini angry

So here we find Krishna is in this very philosophical discussion with Rukmini although that wasn’t intended to be that way. Krishna never saw Rukmini angry. Whatever He did she just accepted it and just served him and pleased him and now He wanted to exert His Supreme power by making her angry. But in the sense Krishna is conquered by the love of His devotee. He is saying so many things against Himself just to prove that He’s not worthy to have a queen like Rukmini and therefore by pointing out all of his various disqualifications He’s telling Rukmini you should leave me and go somewhere else. He wanted to see her get angry, but she didn’t get angry rather she was in such intense bhava or ecstasy of love thinking Krishna is going to leave me, her whole body began to tremble.

She looked down, tears poured from her eyes and ultimately she fell to the ground unconscious that was a very different experience and then Krishna jumped out him from his bed Rukmini’s bed and picked her up. Describes in Srimad-Bhagavatam just to serve Her thoroughly He manifested four arms so he could simultaneously pick her up and wipe her tears and her body doing these sevas for Rukmini simultaneously. And he then said actually, I didn’t mean that I just wanted to make you angry and he explained and then she was happy. And now she is responding to everything He said. Whatever He was saying was His disqualification. She’s reinterpreting it from a higher level than even Krishna spoke it to explain how it is everything He said is glorifying Him. His idea was to say you are so qualified I am so unqualified But She is interpreting every word of it is you are so qualified and I am so unqualified.

Janmādy asya yato: this is the beginning of true understanding of the spiritual science is the absolute truth is from whom everything emanates sarva karana karanam the cause of all causes. Krishna tells in Gita 10th chapter:

“I am the source of all spiritual and material world. Everything emanates from me.” The Lord has many energies multifarious energies and the Lord is simultaneously one with those energies and at the same time stands apart from those energies .The example often given as the sun planet. The sun is the sunshine. The sun is not different than the sunshine but still the sunshine is never the source of the sun. The sun is always the source of the sunshine and the sunray is non-different than the sun, but the sunray does not include all sunrays, but the sun includes every sun ray.

BG 15.7

mamaivāṁśo jīva-lokejīva-bhūtaḥ sanātana

Every living being is part and parcel of me. Krishna tells in Gita that when you know the truth. You understand all beings are in me and mine. So in this beautiful purport describing how Krishna nothing is apart from him because everything is within him. Everything is His energy and everything is expanding from Him. So there’s a different ways of perceiving the same thing and if we try to see it from the whole picture we understand that there is no contradiction. But if we only to see specifics this and that without seeing the relationship with each other and we see apparent contradictions. For instance, in Bhagavad-Gita Krishna says, as the peace formula in the fifth chapter:

BG 5.29 bhoktāraṁ yajña-tapasāṁ
sarva-loka-maheśvaram

It is translated that Krishna is the proprietor of everything that exists. He’s the enjoyer of everything .He is the best intimate loving well-wishing friend of all. He is the proprietor of everything that exists and here we find Krishna is not the proprietor of anything because He is beyond the proprietor. He simultaneously is the proprietor and He is not the proprietor. How is that possible? He is the proprietor because He is the ultimate controller of everything, but this is just in a way that we can understand and perceive, but the concept of acintya to inconceivable we have to really broaden our spectrum of intelligence beyond human intelligence, which is impossible. But still we have to do and how is it possible? How it is possible to do what is impossible? You have to be humble to let Krishna do it for you.

We can only understand Krishna when Krishna makes himself understood to us. We can only truly understand what philosophy is when God reveals the truth of that philosophy. – Radhanath Swami

Otherwise it’s just semantics and it’s just words, it’s just concepts and is just jugglery of our intelligence to comprehend to explain but to really understand and grasp it is only by Krishna’s grace. We have to humble ourselves to Krishna’s grace .In this sense proprietor, Krishna is the proprietor of everything because he is “Ishvarah paramah Krishna
sac-cid-ananda-vigrahaha” He is the supreme controller of all controllers. Krishna is sarva sareveshvara, He is the controller of all controllers who think they are controllers and everybody else is a controller.

Everyone has some control. Even though baby that just comes out of mother’s womb has a little bit of control and the mother has much more control. But then the mother is also controlled and the father is controlled, everybody is controlled. Ultimately worldwide all of humanity and all the species of life on this little earth planet are very much under the control of the Devas and the Devas are all totally under control ultimately of Krishna. So He is the supreme controller of all controllers. So to be a proprietor means you have control over something, but at the same time He is the absolute truth. Everything is His energy, everything is non-different than Him but still for the sake of Rasa for the sake of loving exchanges He is separate.

Radhanath Swami explains ‘niskincana’ means everything used for the service of Krishna

So in this particular verse, she is beginning by saying that Krishna is niskincana. Krishna said I’m niskincana. I have nothing and He said the people who are inclined to worship me are the people who have nothing and if you do worship you may end up with nothing. If someone is trying to arrange a marriage and this is what you’re potential spouse would say and actually I have nothing and the only people who like me are the people who have nothing and if you marry me you will have nothing. You will have to quiet detached to very such a person could just Svayambhuva Manu he was the King. He was the most wealthy person on the planet and when he decided to marry his daughter Devahuti he gave her marriage to Kardama Muni who actually had nothing. He was living in the forest didn’t have any house or any bank account and any servants, just lived but he had bhakti. He had dharma. He had love for God and Svayambhuva Manu understood that this is real wealth niskincana.

This niskincana in the sense of spirituality it means the wealthiest person. One who doesn’t need the things of this world because when He is so atmarama self-satisfied? And we find even king Prataparudra, the Maharaj Ambarisha they were niskincana. Maharaj Yudhishtir when he was came to his attention to because they claim nothing to be their own. They understood everything is Krishna’s and they used whatever they had their abilities, their intelligence, their knowledge, their wealth, their influence everything was in the mood of the servant of the servant of the servant. This is the niskincana.

Radhanath Swami speaks on renunciation of Sanatana Goswami

Sanatana Goswami gave up all the wealth and pleasures of the world to just go to Vrindavan. When he went to Varanasi on the way to Vrindavana he went from the Prime Minister and he could’ve easily just practice Krishna consciousness in that state for the rest of his life which he was doing but he wanted. He understood the Lord’s will, he wanted to give his whole heart his whole life on another in another type of service. So he voluntarily became a prisoner. He was put in an underground dungeon prison cell. All he have to do is tell the king okay I’m with you, but he said I’m no longer with you. So he was put in prison.

Then he had to bribe the keeper of the jail, which is completely not his style of doing things. He was a man of highest integrity, he didn’t buy people, but he had to, it was the only way out, and he escaped and he was a convict. Obviously, when the king found out he was going to send people looking for him, he couldn’t go any by any main road. He had to be going to the forests he was in the clothes of a prisoner and finally he came to one place .His brother-in-law saw him in that state and gave him a nice blanket because Northern India it gets cold and he didn’t wanted, but just to make his relative happy he accepted the blanket. He has only a blanket pretty nice blanket. When he went to Varanasi and met Lord Chaitanya. Lord Chaitanya didn’t say anything about it. Just for a moment Lord Chaitanya glanced at the blanket. He was really happy to see Sanatana Goswami. Sanatana Goswami’s hair was all disheveled, he didn’t shave because he was running out of prison and he was in rags and just had blanket on and he was sitting in the courtyard of Chandrasekhar’s house.
Lord Chaitanya said, “I think there’s a great saintly person who is sitting out there.”
Chandrashekar saw and he looked around came back and said, “There’s no saintly people out there, no mahatmas are there.”
Lord Chaitanya said, “But there is a mahatma.”
“No, no,” he said, he went and looked again. He said, “There is not any mahatma!”
He said, “Out there is a one beggar.”
Lord Chaitanya said, “That is him!”
He came out and embrace Sanatana Goswami and he was praising Sanatana Goswami and he was glorifying Sanatana Goswami. He was so happy to see him embracing him, they were both in tears. Can you imagine being greeted by the Supreme personality of Godhead and that’s when you’re in that condition of running for your life. But in the midst of this incredible loving exchange Lord Chaitanya’s glance touched the blanket and immediately Sanatana Goswami thought, ‘He doesn’t like my blanket.’

Sanatana Goswami went to ghat of Ganga and there is a very, very simple beggar he was not like mahatma beggar he was just a simple poor person and he has really old torn up quilt and he was washing it in the Ganga. Sanatana Goswami said, “I will give you this very nice blanket if you give me your old quilt,” and the person thought he was being insulted, nobody in creation does at you give something valuable for something were nothing and it wasn’t like mahaprasada, from spiritual perspective mahaprasada.

I’ve seen, you know, people give everything they have for a little piece of an orange peel the Prabhupada bit from. So, from the material calculations the orange peel is worth nothing and they are giving so much for it because the value is it was connected to Prabhupada, it was mahaprasada. But this quilt wasn’t the prasad it was just some old person but he wore that’s all it was.

It was insult, “Why are you insulting me just because you are rich and I am poor. Why are you saying these things against me?”

Sanatana said, “No I really want to give you this. Give me that!”

He said, “Really?”

He said, “Yes!”

So he took the old cloth. He came back to Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu wearing the old quilt. Lord Chaitanya said, “Where is that nice blanket?” Sanatana Goswami explained and Lord Chaitanya said, “This is very good. Now the last tinge of material attractions that you have is gone.”
Sanatana Goswami presented himself in such a humble way really niskincana. Because opulence’s there are six opulence’s wealth is one of them: beauty, knowledge, strength, fame and also detachment is an opulence. People are attracted to renunciation certain people. So Sanatana Goswami was a scholar. He was just a few days before a billionaire and he gave it up on his own. He was from the highest family Saraswati Brahmans from Karnataka. He had such fame and everything but he presented himself to Lord Chaitanya that I am a fool. I don’t know anything people say I’m scholarly because I know so much scriptures and everything like that but actually I really don’t know why I am suffering, but I am suffering. I really don’t know who I am? Who is God? What is the true purpose of life?

And he wasn’t speaking artificially or superficially he was really speaking from his heart. Because Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu sees from outside in, from inside out from the place in the middle, between inside and he sees from above us, below us on all sides of us, another words he really knows what we mean. He sees our intention, bhava grahi janardhana, in the sense he understands the true heart of Sanatana Goswami. He really felt what he was saying and therefore Lord Chaitanya considered you are a fit person to hear the truth. Actually Lord Chaitanya said you are fit to be my guru. You know everything, but just for the sake of being strict and exemplary you’re speaking in this way. Sanatana Goswami said no please I am taking shelter of you and then Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu began his teachings with this principle jivera svarrop hoya krishnera nitya dasa, every living being is by our nature eternally the servant of Krishna and then he developed the entire siddhanta and science of bhakti explained Isvara, jiva, prakarti, kala, karma then he went to through all of these material aspects of creation into the concept of Brahman, Vaikuntha, Goloka, brahma-loka, and the concept of loving exchanges of bhakti raas.

So when Krishna says, “I’m niskincana I don’t have anything. Why do you want me?” Rukmini is telling Krishna what you said is very true and this is the concept which is very fundamental to the difference between the understanding of the Vaishnava school and the impersonal school. Because the concept of nirguna is there in the scriptures .It’s a name of Krishna nirguna guna which means quality, nir means no, negation, with no qualities. So one interpretation of this is if Krishna has no qualities, no gunas which is there in Vedas that means He can’t have a form, He can’t have a personality, He can’t have relationships ultimately because this is all qualities. So therefore He must be impersonal and formless .It’s the logical conclusion to Nirguna no qualities.

But Vyasadev himself the compiler of the greatest Vedas explains Nirguna means no material qualities .Because there are gunas in the spiritual world and there are gunas in this world, Satva guna, Rajo guna and tamo guna. Krishna tells in Gita that

People in this world they study the Vedas because they want to elevate themselves and get higher experiences of happiness within the three modes of nature daivi asi guna mayi mama maya durtaya one who is bound by these three modes of nature, it’s very difficult to get one who take shelter of Me can cross as I am beyond the modes of nature. So “Ishvarah paramah Krishna sac-cid-ananda-vigrahaha” if we balance the two ideas we understand what Nirguna means. Krishna has a body vigraha, which is eternal full of knowledge and full of bliss. It is completely spiritual. The gunas operate under the influence of time. Yes this is how the description is. The gunas in themselves are just latent they are ideal, (50:37) time interacts with the gunas .It energizes them to start on creating limitless varieties within this material world. Krishna tells I am time.

As Mahavishnu by his own will the gunas are created and by the time factor of His glance, He activates everything. So in the sense Krishna’s form is beyond the gunas. It’s not material, it’s not subject to birth, old age, disease, death. Everything within material creation under the influence of the three modes is limited and temporary, but Krishna is unlimited and eternal. His form, His qualities, His personality. So therefore it’s the most obvious thing to a devotee that Nirguna means no material qualities. “janma karma ca me divyam” Krishna says my birth in appearance in this world is Divyam, it’s transcendental to all material conceptions.

When Krishna was just a little child living in Gokul His friends complained to Yashoda mai that Krishna has eaten dirt in a secluded place. Yashoda mai is His mother. By His yoga maya potency He is covering her understanding of His Supremacy or according to this particular definition that is given in the purport He’s covering not only His supremacy but His absoluteness and she’s thinking He is my son, and I must feed Him. And now He is eating dirt, He is going to get sick. Why are you eating dirt, Krishna said no, I never ate dirt, but actually he did eat dirt, so how is it that the absolute truth is telling a lie? If we understand the absolute truth and He cannot tell a lie. He is not lying, on the material level it seems that way but actually He is only seen it to increase the ecstasy of His mother and to increase the ecstasy of all of His devotees for the rest of time because this is one of the favorite stories. So whatever Krishna does is for the ultimate welfare and benefit of everyone.

So Yashoda mai looks in his mouth and in His mouth she sees not only dirt, but she the dirt was there but Krishna created such a situation that she wouldn’t pay attention to just the dirt that He ate. She saw the earth planet not just the earth that he ate she saw earth planet. She saw them all the mountains on earth and all the oceans and all the planets and all the living entities and she saw herself in His mouth and that was actually her. It was like some mirror reflection of her it is quite inconceivable. She’s outside of his mouth looking in His little mouth is only this big? She is seeing the universal creation in the size of the mouth is big. She is seeing herself and the cows and everything that because she is in motherly love.

She’s thinking, ‘What is this I am seeing? Am I sick? No I am quite well. Am I dreaming? No, I’m awake. Am I having some mental disorder? No, my mind is very nice. May be Gargamuni what he said is true that my son is God, he is Narayana.’ She said, “No. How is that possible Narayana is the supreme controller of all controllers and when there is lightning that comes in the sky Krishna cries and runs to me and cries give protection and until I embrace him. He’s very much afraid and he steals from Gopis house, butter and yogurt all of these things this is not Narayana and when I chastise him He becomes very afraid if I don’t feed Him He cries for food. Let Gargamuni say whatever He wants. But Krishna knows who he is and I know who He is, we know what our relationship is and we don’t care what anybody else says.”

So she is thinking all these things while her seeing the universe within His mouth. This is her love. So she saw it nothing since then everything is inside of Krishna. Nothing is outside of Krishna. The whole existence but still soon she closed her mouth. She was thinking if I don’t feed Krishna He will be hungry and she gave Krishna her milk. This is really incredible philosophy. She just saw herself the creation, all the cows everything inside of Krishna and she’s thinking if I don’t put little milk inside of Krishna He will be hungry. This is Bhakti.

The example given here that Srila Prabhupada often gave if you take water from Ganga and offered to Ganga you should not be proud thinking, Ganga just see how generous I am. Let the world know that I have given water to mother Ganga. Ganga is not concerned with the quantity of water you give her .She is concerned with the sincerity of our devotion because she’s our mother the examples given here of are father and mother. Father gives us money and we go and give him by him a gift with that money. Now. The father could be very honest and intellectual and says son. The son runs up to father it’s your birthday I buy this gift please take this gift and the father said you are just a fool buying from my money you are taking my money to buy that gift How could you think that your giving me the gift you just took the money I gave you bought this gift so what is the use of your gift? I couldn’t care less about your gift I could’ve bought something I like better with that money father could say that. And actually materially it’s true completely true. The father is not concerned with them. His concern with that my son could’ve used that money for anything else, but he used it to show his love for me and even if it’s something that the father if anybody else would’ve given it to him. He would probably just given it away or thrown away because this is a useless thing. What do I need this that because it was given for the by the love of the son the father keeps it in a safe place. And 60 years later the father shows it to the great-grandchildren. This is what he gave me very important. Because love is most important. So in a similar way when we offer to Ganga, she’s our mother. She doesn’t need our water it’s her water, but when it’s offered with love. She really accepts it. She becomes overwhelmed with joy. So Krishna is showing Yashoda mai that actually everything is within me but still if you offer me something I’ll be so happy.

Radhanath Swami illustrates that Krishna is the property of those who understand they have nothing, and completely dependent on him

Ram told Hanuman and Krishna told gopis that, “There is no possibility that I could repay you for what you have given me.” He told gopis, “In the lifetime of Brahma I can never repay you for what you’ve given me.” That is the power of devotion. So here is Rukmini. She is fanning Krishna with chamara. But in Bhagavad-Gita Krishna tells that these eight material elements earth, water, fire, air, ether, mind, intelligence, ego they are all my separated external material energy. They are Krishna’s energy. They are coming from Krishna they are within Krishna .Air is wind, all the wind, in the entire existence is coming from Krishna is within Krishna and, and she just see how much air is there, this morning pujari in managala aarti with the chamara going how much air is there compared to the mass total of all air and all the planets in all universes. Krishna is so pleased with a little bit of air is going on. And he see the air is going on Radharani is getting such nice air and Radharani is thinking Gopinath is getting such nice air. They are so happy not because of the air because it’s in exchange of devotion.

So Rukmini is the supreme goddess of fortune so simple. Rukmini, what can she give Krishna? Lakshmi is an expansion of Rukmini, but yet she is just fanning Him little air and actually the maidservant was fanning her first because anyone could go like that we see so many of our little children they had their little chamaras they run up to Prabhupada and go like this run to the deities any Little child fanning is a simple thing, you don’t need a PhD and you don’t need the bhakti Shastri or bhakti vaibhav certificate. I see little babies can’t even walk mother puts the chamara. So Rukmini took what the maidservant was doing and was fanning with such love that air. That air was nectar to Krishna. So this beautiful verse today, she is where Krishna is speaking from the perspective of material evaluation He’s analyzing Himself and He is showing so many disqualifications. And Rukmini Devi is taking it from the absolute pure spiritual consideration and using the same words to glorify Him niskincana.

Kunti Devi, when she was the mother queen after the battle of Kurukshetra Yudhishtir Maharaj was coroneted is the Emperor of the world, and others, and Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula, Sahadev they were all in the highest position of influence and power and wealth and she’s their mother. After so many years of living in trauma and tragedy and loss even one time, her and her sons were hiding together at Ekachakra after the kuru’s headed by Duryodhana and Shakuni when they try to burn Kunti and her children alive house of lack. They were hiding actually had nothing materially and now she’s the queen mother have everything and she’s offering her prayers to Krishna and she’s telling Krishna, You are the property of those who have nothing akincena gocaram, because people who have a lot of wealth and a lot of beauty fame, strength, high birth, very good education and knowledge they become proud they can’t take shelter of you. They can’t cry out to holy name even if they become religious it’s so superficial when external. You are the property of those who deeply understand that they have nothing. That they are absolutely completely dependent on you and this is the theme of so many of the stories Shukadev Goswami narrates to Parikshit Maharaj in the Srimad Bhagavatam.

Radhanath Swami narrates the story of Gajendra’s surrender

Gajendra was the king of the forest. He was such a powerful elephant even the Lions and the Tigers and everyone did their pranams to him. He was so powerful. With such beautiful wives by elephant calculate and he has nice children and he was just living the highest life you could imagine as far as he was the king, he was the controller, such a family with so much affection everything was there. And he brought his family to a really nice pond of water and beautiful area was actually heavenly and he went into the water and it was such a nice water and the water was so cooling and refreshing and clean and sweet he wanted was throwing it on his family and they were so happy not only the water was so nice, but it was thrown on them by the love of their father and their husband. So in this way was such a nice, it was like the summit of material enjoyment he was having with him. But the problem with the water is you can’t see what’s under the water.

Similarly, the with the this world who ever we are whatever we have even in the summit of everything that we always wanted to work in the midst of enjoying that we don’t know what’s under the water. Suddenly something grabs onto his leg, really painful. It’s a crocodile, and Gajendra is fighting with the crocodile fighting with all of his might and he said some of tries to drag the crocodile he knows if he can get the crocodile out of the water, then he has more strength but if the crocodile keeps him in the water he doesn’t have anything to eat the crocodiles eating all he needs is water. The crocodile is fighting and fighting and Gajendra fighting and fighting and Gajendra looks to his children and his wives and his friends and everybody and nobody could do anything to help them they’re all just standing on the banks of the pond crying what is happening to our loved one. They can’t help me and as the hours and hours and hours go by he’s getting weaker and weaker and the crocodiles getting stronger and stronger and he realized, ‘I have no power to protect myself and there is no one in this world that can help me in my condition.’ This crocodile represents every type of challenge that we have in our life.

Some people are bitten by the crocodile of some disease no matter what they have. Crocodile doesn’t want to go it’s killing them. Sometimes it’s just a mental condition somebody says something or somebody does something or something happens… Like a crocodile biting us in our subtle body and we just can’t get rid of that crocodile and is dragging us down .How many of you have crocodiles in your life? May be flying in an airplane and its goes down to crash like a crocodile. What did you do? May be driving in the car there is a traffic jam in Mumbai you have to it’s your daughter’s marriage and the muhurat is at this time, it has to be at this time. Otherwise everything becomes inauspicious if you caught in traffic jam. And you tell the driver just fly over all the cars and the driver says, “I don’t know how to do that.”

So what can you do you are helpless it’s the crocodile of a situation. It’s beyond your control so many things like this Adhyatmika, adi-devika, adi-bhotika miseries caused by our own mind and body miseries is caused by other beings, especially humans or mosquitoes or other beings or miseries caused by natural disturbances. It’s all like crocodiles, and so many times some things we can actually resolve by our own intelligence or our influence or our own powers, but other things are beyond. Crocodile was tracking Gajendra down and at a certain point he realized there’s nothing myself or anyone can do to save me and it was then that he remembered his previous life of being a great devotee and the prayers he learnt. As long as it was absorbed in material ways of life and he was quite successful in doing it. Those spiritual assets he had just remained so much in the background but now was all he had left, he was Niskincana.

He realized, ‘I have nothing.’ Actually he was still the king he still had his wives and his children all around him. He still had everything you used to have, but by the grace of the crocodile he realized that actually none of it’s really mine, it all can be taken away from me in a moment’s so he was niskincana. In that state he plucked a single lotus flower and in that pond there were so many lotus flower and he offered it to Lord Narayana and offered beautiful prayers and in his prayers Krishna, “I am yours, I give my heart, my body, my mind, my words, my life everything I offer to you. I take shelter of you. Kill me if you want to, protect me doesn’t matter anymore. I am yours.” Sharanagati.

But you cannot actually surrender unless you niskincana unless you realize that everything ultimately belongs to the Lord, I’m yours. Lord Vishnu came down on Garuda and within a moment He cut off the crocodile’s mouth. The crocodile without a mouth this doesn’t have influence on anyone. Because that is his strength and their teeth in mouth and all of a sudden his mouth gets cut off. Then Lord Vishnu restores the crocodile to a demigod and then he tells Gajendra you come with me back to Godhead. He took Gajendra back to Godhead. Hare Krishna! Ultimate liberation that moment because of his surrender Krishna I am yours. So from the perspective of the bhakti philosophy Vaishnavism the surrender is Krishna I’m yours and when Krishna reciprocates and gives us the understanding that Krishna you are mine.

Radhanath Swami narrates the story of Ambarisha Maharaja being niskincana

This is revealed in the story of Ambarish Maharaj. He was also a great king, he had palaces armies, family and wealth. He performed this fast in Madhuban for one year he did the Ekadashi and Dwadashi fast for one full year. The culmination just three days of no food and no water. But he was doing it for the pleasure of Krishna. He was doing it for the welfare of all of his citizens every living being in his kingdom. He was doing it for their welfare by setting such an example and by offering the benefits were coming spiritual blessings, he was offering it to everyone. After he completed a year of fasting and three days of no food or water before breaking the fast he gave millions of cows to the Brahmanas and tens of millions every cow he gave had full milk bag, at least one or more baby calves along with the cow. Every cow had gold not like India Bollywood type of gold, pure gold plated horns and pure silver plated huffs can you imagine, such wealth he had. Who can give a gift like that today?

Even if the marriage of your daughter you cannot give, whoever you are, tens of millions of cows with full bags and calves, what to speak of just giving them just transporting them and gave them all away with gold one cow the amount of gold and silver one, was more than what most people’s entire bank balances and is giving them all and it was just the beginning of his gifts and he was giving more and he was feeding everyone, big, nice feasts. And he was about to eat himself, to break his fast, just at that moment Durvasa Muni appeared on the scene .Durvasa Muni by all material calculation is niskincana.

You never hear about Durvasa Muni sleeping in a nice bed in some house he slept in caves he slept in forest and riverbanks, under trees he had no possessions, just wear a simplest clothes of mystic yogi, never combed his hair, and matted hair. He is really among yogis. A renowned sage just traveling around meditating. So he appears and Ambarish jumps up to receive him and offers him such nice sitting place and washing his feet and offers him prayers and says please eat I have such a nice feasts for you Durvasa Muni said yes I will. But first I must take my bath in Yamuna. As he was a very strict Brahman. So he had to perform his ritual before he eat.

So he went to Yamuna and then when he went into Yamuna he started meditating and entered into a state where he was meditating on Brahman. It appeared he was in samadhi. So what is Ambarisha is going to do, he was told by the Brahmins you have to immediately break your fast. Now in Kaliyuga you are supposed to try to be as strict as possible but if somehow or other, there’s a technical problem somehow or other will get through it, but this is in the previous yoga, if Ambarisha doesn’t break his fast during the scheduled Parana. Then what happens then the whole year of fasting all the benefits are negated not only that, but it’s an aparadh. Instead of benefits to yourself and pleasing Krishna and benefits to everyone else it becomes like a curse. So this is a serious thing he has to break his fast on this moment, but at the same time it’s an offensive he doesn’t break his fast and its offensive he eats before his guest Durvasa Muni.

So the Srimad-Bhagavatam describes it was a very dangerous situation. He was really in the situations that we all get into sometimes. Why this is happening whatever you do, it seems is going to be a problem. So he asked the Brahmins, this is the way they usually get out of such things put the responsibility on others. He is the King, he supposed to follow the spiritual advice of the Brahmins so he tells Brahmins what do I do? And Brahmins are Brahmins. They didn’t have that much time to discuss when they were discussing so many different opinions and they couldn’t come to a conclusion. So now Ambarisha has the Brahmins they have so many different opinions they couldn’t come to a conclusion that the yet I don’t know how much they were arguing with each other you should do this you know you do that no, no you should do this but according to the Shastra you should do this according to that Shastra you should do this, according to my Shastra you should do this. They are all bona fide Brahmins.

So now Ambarish had to make up his own decision because the Brahmanas were helping him and at the same time it’s not the you go up to do Durvasa muni samadhi and said you come out of your some samadhi immediately because you have to eat now it’s not like you can do that. So Durvasa Muni is in the water and he could have been there for many days they don’t know. So it’s really a difficult situation so Ambarish has to pray to Krishna please help the Brahmins are not giving me anything concrete to do. So then he comes to his own conclusion, and what was that that if you drink water it’s considered a fast but if you drink water is also considered breaking the fast. Drinking water is considered not eating, drinking water is considered eating and in this regard and the purport to this verses, Srila Prabhupada quotes that some political leaders of India were doing fasting what is the word is removed. This way the it is .still like this. Prabhupada said they would only drink water. This is considered fasting.

So Ambarish came with his conclusion and presented it to all the Brahmans that if I drink a little water and breaking the fast, but if I drink little water on breaking the fast so should I drink a little water and they said yes very good, drink water .So he just drank tiny film water .Durvasa Muni was such a Sage that he’s in the Yamuna so much water and in those days and was really even the most materialistic person wanted to drink water from the Yamuna that he cleaned and very pure Madhuban, and he’s immediately recognizes through his mystic sensitivity Ambarish drank water. He was so angry. His eyes were red like coals, his body was trembling with anger and he insulted Ambarish the worst way. Vaishnava what he was saying to Ambarish was just opposite everything he was trying to be. He said that Ambarish you are a cruel.

A Vaishnava wants to be compassionate, he said you are cruel. He is saying you are a hypocrite. Your so-called devotion to Vishnu is simply bogus. You have no true devotion you just cheating everyone with your hypocrisy and therefore I must destroy you. Now he was so angry. He pulled a bunch of hair from his head. You have to really be hungry to do that and sometime our brahmachari’s because they have shaved head they can’t do that, he was so angry he pulled his hair and said a mantra and threw the hair on the floor. Instantly this personality whose body was made out of blazing fire who had eyes and a mouth and was holding a trident, he was gigantic He look like devastation. Now Durvasa Muni was born in Chitrakut, son of Atri Muni and Anasuya, Soma was the avatar of Brahma, Datatreya is the avatar of Vishnu and the avatar of Shiva was Durvasa, if he wants to destroy he is the destroyer and with all of his potency he created this monster of fire to destroy Ambarish and this firing monster roared. Can you imagine the sound of that roar? Fire roaring and he’s only inches away from Ambarish and he jumps toward Ambarish to devour him.

Ambarish did not move a single foot he didn’t move, he didn’t run away, didn’t call his armies to protect him. He just stood with folded palms completely fearless “bhajahu re mana sri-nanda-nandanaabhaya-caranaravinda re” We pray to our mind please worship Krishna because when you really absorb your mind, yourself, and worshiping Krishna you become fearless because you’ve taken shelter of him “sri-nanda-nandana.” So Ambarish was in that mood. It wasn’t just the theoretical practice here death personified was inches away from devouring him. His families is there his friends, ministers everything is about to lose everything Ambarish is fearless. Krishna I am yours because he gave his heart fully to Krishna, Krishna gave his heart fully to him and Krishna is acintya sakti he has a Sudarshan Chakra. Now with this fiery demon right upon Ambarish he only had not even second’s moments to live.

Narayana is in Vaikuntha it’s a long way, so to send Sudarshan and chakra he only had a moment, but for Vishnu everything is possible. If Krishna wants to protect his devotee, doesn’t matter what the situation is. Within that one moment that Sudarshan Chakra come from Vaikuntha just came right down and destroyed liberated that personality created by Durvasa. Just immediately fire was extinguished the person was gone. Then the Sudarshan chakra redirected himself to Durvasa Muni. Now who is niskincana? Ambarisha was living in a beautiful palace, he has wives and his children. That means he was having sex, he was having children, having so many duties is wearing nice clothes when he is in his palace. Durvasa muni is just wearing some tree bark he is completely celibate sadhu.

So who’s niskincana? when the fiery personification of devastation was about to devour Ambarish he was fearless, he didn’t move just chant God’s name and gave his heart to Krishna with a prayer .When Sudarshan chakra came towards Durvasa muni as fast as he could ran away desperately fearful really fearful. He is running and Krishna’s so expert, whether he was running slow or fast, whether he was going two kilometers an hour or 10 million km an hour, Sudarshan was always the same distance inches behind him. He went to Brahma because when he couldn’t get away by running, he started flying and how could he fly, he didn’t need an aircraft.

How long would it take for any airplane to go to Brahmaloka? By the speed of our airplanes we would take hundreds of millions of years for any of our airplanes to reach Brahmaloka and still they can’t reach. But Durvasa Muni went in Brahmaloka by chanting mantras such a powerful yogi, he falls at the feet of Brahma save me, Brahma said myself and Lord Shiva and all the demigods we are all under the control of Vishnu. This is Vishnu’s weapon there’s nothing we can do to you. Then he want to Kailash, the planet of Lord Shiva fell at Shiva’s feet Shankar bhagavan please save me. Shiva said same thing we are all under the control of Lord Narayana.

We are all the servants of the servants of Narayan, whatever powers we have just given to us by Narayana, only he can save you. – Radhanath Swami

Durvasa was really determined to save his life. He flew all the way to Vaikuntha that’s determination and felt the feet of Lord Vishnu and said you are the supreme personality of Godhead “I have made an offense to your devotee. I beg forgiveness please save me, I take shelter of you”. Lord Narayana said that I am completely under the control of my devotee even though I am supremely independent. I have given up my independence to be controlled by the love of my devotee. The devotee is so absorbed in loving service to that the devotee always keeps me through his remembrance or her remembrance in the very core of his heart and therefore the devotee is always in the core of my heart. The devotee has giving up everything for me and I give up everything for my devotee, and this is very personal. This is a very unique, individual personal relationship that Krishna has with every pure devotee.

Durvasa Muni you are asking me to help you, but I’ve given up my own free will. I’m living in the heart of Ambarish Maharaj. So therefore immediately at this moment you should go to Ambarish. So Durvasa muni understood what is niskincana and what was Ambarisha role he was still standing there for one year just waiting for he didn’t eat he was still waiting for his guest. When Durvasa Muni came back to Madhuban, Ambarisha was still waiting. Sudarshan was still the exact distance behind him, he was always feeling the heat and Ambarish prayed, he prayed Sudarshan Chakra you are glorified you are the divine servant of Lord Narayana. He said if ever I have done any dharma, any bhakti ,anything I’ve ever done in the service of the Lord or for the good of others, let all those credits go toward saving Durvasa Muni, please bless him. And the Sudarshan the power of the prayers of Ambarisha left Durvasa muni and Durvasa Muni started glorifying Ambarish, you are a true devotee ,you are truly renounced, detached you are truly niskincana not me. And Ambarisha no, no, you eat just prasad he fed him Prasad.

Radhanath Swami describes Krishna as niskincana because he is the source of everything

So Rukmini Devi is the goddess of devotion. She’s the source, she is an expansion of shri Radha in Vrindavan. The source of all prema all love. So she is speaking these beautiful words that Krishna you are truly niskincana you don’t have anything why because you have everything because everything was within you and everything is of you, you are the source of everything that exists. The six opulences beauty, knowledge, strength, fame, wealth and detachment, renunciation these opulences are what makes a person attractive in this world. Even another species, other species see beauty in each other they see strength in each other they see territorial property that they control what to speak of humans, some was very beautiful very strong athletic how much how much are athletes attractive to people so relative. In India your cricket stars are really attractive but in the West nobody could care anything for a crickets star, they don’t even know what cricket is it’s an insect. But in India cricket stars very attractive because of the strength and their speed and People who are extremely wealthy, extremely charitable are very well attractive people who have very extraordinary physical beauty, people who have great knowledge, wealth of information like encyclopedias they could sight anything any time and they can solve problems me know so much. People attracted to fame.

These opulences make a person attractive and therefore people are so passionate to somehow or other acquire these opulences or be attracted to these opulences. But Krishna is Bhagavan means one who is the source of all these opulences, is not just the proprietor of the opulences he’s the source of all the opulences he’s the complete hold of all the opulences incredible. Because whatever beauty your knowledge or strength or wealth or fame or renunciation anyone has it’s actually just a little spark of what belongs to Krishna. Krishna tells in Gita all the incredible things in this world are just the spark of my splendor. So Krishna is niskincana because he is the source of everything and nothing is ever outside of him. Therefore from a material perspective is not just the proprietor of something like we could be, our conception of proprietorship of anything is limited and temporary but Krishna everything is forever within him, so in the sense that it’s a completely different conception he is Nirguna. He has nothing to do with our sense of proprietorship. It has nothing to do with our sense of renunciation. So Rukmini is taking Krishna’s words to give the ultimate glorification of him and to give all of us and entrance into this understanding and ultimately Rukmini conquers Krishna with Her love with her appreciation.

About Radhanath Swami

The ‘Radhanath Swami Explosion’–the exponential growth in the popularity of Radhanath Swami–might be a recent phenomena, but the origin of this ‘Big Bang’ go back to 1971.
But Radhanath Swami was little known until 1986 when he returned to India after spending a couple of years in an austere monastery in North America. It was then that the Radhanath Swami that we now know began to emerge in the eyes of the world... Read More